Lots of empty parking at DART stations
As a frequent rider of DART, I often find myself dismayed at the wide swaths of empty parking lots that surround stations, especially along the Red Line. Unfortunately, the park-and-ride model has not worked to encourage ridership.
To stress-test the true need for parking around DART stations, I traveled to both Arapaho Center and Parker Road stations during the Texas-OU game last Saturday, DART’s busiest day of the year. Surely if there were one day on which these lots would be full, it would be then, right?
Wrong. By my calculations, less than 45% of the parking spots at Parker Road Station were occupied during the game, despite the station serving as a hub for fans across all of Collin County. Arapaho Center Station fared even worse, with a pitiful 13% of parking spaces filled.
Why do we keep letting the best places to build affordable housing suffocate under seas of flat, useless concrete?
James Outlaw Urech, Richardson
Conflicts in Israel
Re: “Latest aid pledge ups U.S. role — Biden sends missile system and 100 troops to assist Israeli forces,” and “Netanyahu may cut food, water — Critics say plan would starve civilians unable to leave northern Gaza,” Monday news stories.
Does anybody besides me see a conflict with these two stories? President Joe Biden claims to be demanding a peaceful resolution to prevent World War III in the Middle East, then he provides American soldiers and state-of-the-art missiles to Israel.
Israel has a right to defend itself, not to create another holocaust, and the United States should not be complicit in this slaughter.
Steve McCluer, Dallas
Whiffs of a police state
Re: “Former chief: Charter proposals are wrong approach,” by David O. Brown, Monday Opinion.
Former Dallas police Chief Brown brought realistic points to some of the propositions on the ballot, although I take issue with two comments. Regarding Proposition U, which would force the city to hire a certain number of officers, he states that this “risks turning our city into a police state.” Yet, in a subsequent paragraph he also states that he implemented license plate readers and surveillance cameras.
Doesn’t such electronic monitoring of citizens sound like moving to more of a police state?
Jack Bunning, East Dallas
What is truth?
Re: “Why I’m switching parties,” by Cynthia C. Sample, Monday Letters.
Although I much appreciate Sample’s choice and use of the adjective measurable in qualifying the word truth in her letter, it prompts the question: By whose yardstick would it be measured?
It seems that, here in the U.S. at least, we are no closer to answering Pontius Pilate’s 2,000-year-old question, “What is truth?” But nice letter, Sample, and may we all think on it.
James Beall Garner, Denton
Van Duyne has earned re-election
Re: “We Recommend — Eppler for 24th Congressional District,” Monday Editorials.
I would like to point out some of the softer side of Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving. She consistently helps families in the district, such as helping obtain a passport, supporting a small business, organizing a food drive and, as you pointed out, sponsoring a large career fair.
Van Duyne is pro-business and economic growth. She was one of the co-sponsors of HR 895 to combat organized retail crime. In addition, she understands how inflation is affecting business, especially the rise in credit card fees.
I suggest Van Duyne has earned re-election.
Gary Huddleston, Southlake
Questioning Allred on tax cuts
Re: “Prioritize relief for the middle class,” by Colin Allred, Sept. 9 Opinion.
I recently saw Allred’s op-ed in which he claims to support tax relief for the middle class. While his words may sound appealing, his record tells a different story.
Allred dismissed President Donald Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as irresponsible. These tax cuts gave hardworking Texans a break, yet Allred stood against them. Now, in his op-ed, he’s trying to position himself as an advocate for the middle class.
But how can we trust him when he opposed a policy that benefited so many families? If he genuinely cared about providing relief, he would have supported those cuts. Allred’s past opposition to meaningful tax relief raises serious doubts about his current claims. His sudden shift in tone feels more like election-year rhetoric than a sincere commitment to helping middle-class families.
Texans deserve a senator who will consistently stand up for them, not someone who flip-flops on key issues when it’s convenient. His essay can’t change the fact that when it mattered most, he would have opposed the very tax cuts that helped us.
Mary Brooks, Northwest Dallas
Sign stealers
To the Trump supporter who continues to steal the Allred, Eppler and Harris-Walz signs from our yard: If you have “no fear,” as your signs state, then why are you afraid of our signs?
Stop the Steal.
Sherry Tucker Cox, Highland Park
Better than artificial turf
Re: “Remove lawns, save water,” by Ellen Taylor Seldin, Saturday Letters.
While I wholeheartedly agree with Seldin about the need to remove lawns to save water and protect our environment from fertilizers, plastic grass is not the best answer.
At times, artificial turf heats up so much that it is unsafe for children to play on. It is made of plastic, which is a problem in our environment; plastic is even found in our bodies. Although the manufacturers of plastic grass say that it is recyclable, it is almost never recycled. Organizations as diverse as The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-artificial-grass/) and the University of Florida (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP612) do not recommend artificial grass.
Instead, consider planting native plants or using mulch.
Mary Whitlow, Dallas
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com